In European specification, the Porsche 911 Turbo Coupe and Cabriolet are split by 70 kilograms (154 pounds). The question is, how do the weight and aerodynamic differences affect the soft-top version in a drag race?
Paul Maric of Car Expert is much obliged to answer this curiosity with a series of quarter-mile showdowns. With the roof up, the cabriolet ran 11.5 seconds at 207.5 kilometers per hour (129 miles per hour), while the coupe recorded 11.4 seconds at 206.3 kilometers per hour (128 miles per hour).
With the roof down, things got a little interesting. Both crossed the finish line in 11.1 seconds, but as fate would have it, the coupe boasted 8.1 more kilometers per hour. For the following two races, the peeps at CarExpert have added some ballast to the coupe to achieve the same curb weight as the cabriolet. To whom it may concern, the soft-top model is listed by Porsche’s European arm at 1,785 kilograms (3,935 pounds) fully stock.
Believe it or not, the fixed-head variant lost both races by one-tenth and two-tenths of a second, respectively. But on the fifth and final run, the 911s swapped lanes to reveal something completely unexpected. More specifically, the coupe ran 10.8 seconds, just like the cabriolet did in the previous race. The convertible, meanwhile, had to settle for "merely" 11.1 seconds.
A dead heat, two coupe victories, and two cabrio victories result in an overall tie. Crazy how similar these brothers are in a straight line, right?
Over in Germany, where the 992 series is manufactured at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen production facility, the 911 Turbo carries a sticker price of €194,650 (make that $220,585) and €208,216 ($235,955), respectively.
As for the most expensive 911 on sale right now, that would be the Turbo S Cabriolet at €240,822 or $272,910 converted at current exchange rates.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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